From:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR2007032500542.html
Hagel: Some See Impeachment As Option
By HOPE YEN
The Associated Press
Sunday, March 25, 2007; 2:04 PM
WASHINGTON -- With his go-it-alone approach on Iraq, President Bush is
flouting Congress and the public, so angering lawmakers that some
consider impeachment an option over his war policy, a senator from
Bush's own party said Sunday.
<snip>
GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a member of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee and a frequent critic of the war, stopped short of
calling for Bush's impeachment. But he made clear that some lawmakers
viewed that as an option should Bush choose to push ahead despite
public sentiment against the war.
"Any president who says, I don't care, or I will not respond to what
the people of this country are saying about Iraq or anything else, or
I don't care what the Congress does, I am going to proceed _ if a
president really believes that, then there are _ what I was pointing
out, there are ways to deal with that," said Hagel, who is considering
a 2008 presidential run.
The Senate planned to begin debate Monday on a war spending bill that
would set a nonbinding goal of March 31, 2008, for the removal of
combat troops.
That comes after the House narrowly passed a bill Friday that would
pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year but would require that
combat troops come home from Iraq before September 2008 _ or earlier
if the Iraqi government did not meet certain requirements.
On Sunday, Hagel said he was bothered by Bush's apparent disregard of
congressional sentiment on Iraq, such as his decision to send
additional troops. He said lawmakers now stood ready to stand up to
the president when necessary.
In the April edition of Esquire magazine, Hagel described Bush as
someone who doesn't believe he's accountable to anyone. "He's not
accountable anymore, which isn't totally true. You can impeach him,
and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I
don't know. It depends on how this goes," Hagel told the magazine.
In his weekly address Saturday, Bush accused Democrats of partisanship
in the House vote and said it would cut the number of troops below a
level that U.S. military commanders say they need. Vice President [censored]
Cheney also accused Democrats of undermining U.S. troops in Iraq and
of sending a message to terrorists that America will retreat in the
face danger.
"We have clearly a situation where the president has lost the
confidence of the American people in his war effort," Hagel said. "It
is now time, going into the fifth year of that effort, for the
Congress to step forward and be part of setting some boundaries and
some conditions as to our involvement."
"This is not a monarchy," he added, referring to the possibility that
some lawmakers may seek impeachment. "There are ways to deal with it.
And I would hope the president understands that."
Lott said setting withdrawal dates is a futile and potentially
dangerous exercise because Bush has made clear he will veto any such
legislation.
"There are members in the Senate in both parties that are not
comfortable with how things have gone in Iraq," Lott said. "But they
understand that artificial timetables, even as goals, are a
problem. ...We will try to take out the arbitrary dates."
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said the Senate bill seeks to heed the
recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group by setting a goal
of withdrawing some troops while leaving others behind to train the
Iraqi army for border patrol and other missions.
"That, combined with a very aggressive, diplomatic effort in the
region is what we're going to need to have," he said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she believed that setting a
timetable was appropriate but declined to predict whether it would
garner enough Senate votes to pass.
"People of this country have spoken overwhelmingly. It's been constant
now," Feinstein said. "They want us out. It is time for the Senate to
weigh in. I hope we will have the votes."
Hagel spoke on ABC's "This Week," Feinstein and Lott appeared on "Fox
News Sunday," and Nelson was on CNN's "Late Edition."